On the recordFebruary 17, 2011
I thank my colleague, Senator Rockefeller, for the wonderful words about myself, about both of our staffs, and suffice it to say, I think the leadership that comes from the top--Senator Rockefeller, as chairman of the Commerce Committee-- has put together a staff and a mandate for all of us such that we are going to be a productive committee, we are going to work together, and we are going to shoot straight. And that is exactly what our staffs do, and it is what we do. The reason we get along so well and have done so much is that we may not agree on every issue, but we try to help each other in a way that achieves the overall goal we both want. Then we have the room to differ on specific ways to get there. So it is a pleasure to be the ranking member of the Commerce Committee, and I do feel that I am a full partner. Even though I am not the chairman of the committee, I do feel like the vice chairman. So I thank the chairman. I think we have accomplished so much tonight. We haven't passed, on final passage, this bill, but the authorization bill that preceded this one was passed in 2007, and we have had 18 short-term extensions. The FAA runs our aviation system in this country. It is responsible for the safety, it is responsible for consumer protection, and it is responsible for managing the air traffic in this country and managing the fund that helps airports with infrastructure.
